


For the Moment

by falycat



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Developing Friendships, F/M, Phase One (Gorillaz), Pre-Phase One, this was just for fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-08
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-06-07 11:38:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15218339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falycat/pseuds/falycat
Summary: “Sure thing. And you can just call me Russ.”She feels the smile stretch across her face. “Alright.” She watches him walk away for a while before heading back to her flat. She’s got a skip to her step now, feels lighter. With a new friend everything seems a little brighter.





	For the Moment

**Author's Note:**

> This was a silly idea that I had to help me get back into writing. I always thought Russel would be a good friend to have and with the new album out I finally got around to writing it. I sorta have a whole story planed where my OC meets the band and possible falls for someone, but I think I'll just keep this little short instead.

Evie bumps into him on accident. She should be looking for a new flat after the disaster at her last one, but instead she’s browsing record stores in Soho. London is a bizarre city, larger than she expected, the largest place she’s ever been. Filled to the brim with interesting people and a whole new set of mistakes to make. It’s a far cry from her home town in New Hampshire, where absolutely everyone knew who she was - knew who her father was. Here, at least, Evie can blend in.

She’s flipping through some new releases when a sound behind her causes her to turn, right into someone. With a small gasp she falls back. She rubs her forehead absently and glances up, apology already on her tongue, only to stop when she finds a pair of eerie white eyes. 

“Sorry ‘bout that. Didn’t see you there.” The man holds his hand out to her, a grin plastered on his face. 

It takes her a moment before she can respond “Oh, yeah, no, totally my fault.” He’s got a firm grip when he pulls her off the floor. She doesn’t understand why she’s so startled, he isn’t even the strangest person she’s ever met, though there is something kind of other worldly about him. 

He smiles again. “Names Russel, figure I at least owe you that if you won’t accept my apology.” The guy seems genuine enough, and his pleasant demeanor is making Evie feel like a bit of jerk. After a moment she realizes something –

“You haven’t got an accent!” She pauses “or wait, I guess you do? I don’t really - Anyway, you American?” After her outburst she feels embarrassment burn high on her cheeks, but Russel just laughs.

“Yeah, grew up in Brooklyn. Where you from?”

“Exeter, it’s in New Hampshire.” She doesn’t expect him to know where that is, but it’s nice to hear a familiar voice, sort of. 

“Oh, nice. Can’t say I’ve heard of it.” He glances over his shoulder, “Uh, I better get back to work, but I get off at 3 if you want to chat?”

Evie smiles this time “Yeah, sounds good. My names Evie, by the way, Evie Hallows.” Russel nods once before turning back to the counter.  


“Nice to meet ya, Evie.”  


# ________________________________________

  
They agree to meet at a coffee shop a few blocks away. It’s a nice place, not too crowded, but warm. She picks a small table by the window, glancing at her reflection. Her dark hair has curled a little from the rain, but other than that she thinks she looks fine. It doesn’t matter, she thinks harshly, this isn’t a date anyway.

Evie is flipping through some trashy magazine when Russel wanders in.

“Good, you found it.” He still seems genuinely pleased to see her “It’s a small place, nice though. My uncle showed it to me when I first moved here”. 

She agrees “Its cozy.” They talk about nothing for a while, trading funny stories between them. There’s a moment, when Russel talks about his friend Del, that she swears his eyes glow, but she brushes it off as a trick of her imagination. 

Instead she mentions the time she pushed a bunch of pumpkins out the back of her friend’s pick-up and they rolled down the hill straight into the sheriff’s house. He seems to like that one, but he does ask “how did you even get that many pumpkins in the first place?”

“Okay so, one of neighbors bought a whole bunch one fall, like just an obsessive number. I still don’t have any idea why. Anyway, his wife was livid and made him throw them out. It was this huge thing, everyone in town knew about it and had taken sides.” She takes a sip of her coffee before continuing,

“The whole thing was ridiculous. Problem was, no one knew what to do with the pumpkins once he’d thrown them out, so they sat on the curb for a while. I think a couple people took them for Jack-O-Lanterns or something, but again, there was an unholy number of them. So, it’s a Wednesday night, we’re bored out of our minds and my friend goes ‘hey! Let’s steal those pumpkins!’ and I’m 16 and dumb so of course I go ‘absolutely!’ and well I didn’t realize how fast they can go.” 

“How much trouble did you get in?” 

She makes a vague gesture with her hand, glancing out the window “after they smashed against his house we drove off. It was dark so I don’t think he actually saw us. I think he suspected though. My father on the other hand…” She trails off and laughs awkwardly. When he heard about the incident he’d know it was her instantly. It hadn’t been a fun night. She shakes the memory quickly, turning back to Russel.

He’s looking at her, really looking at her, and she starts to wonder what she gave away. “How’d you wind up here anyway?”

This isn’t really a conversation she wants to get into. There isn’t a good way to say, ‘I followed a girl I thought I loved, but it turns out I was just lonely’. Even thinking it sounds stupid. She had gotten lucky and found a local art studio that need an instructor for kids, but honestly everything else had been a disaster. Evie considers turning the questions around on him, asking about his eyes, instead she says, “I needed a change, and traveling across an ocean seemed like the way to go.” She knows her smile is thin, knows Russel can probably tell she’s, not lying, but not telling the truth. He doesn’t press though, just nods quickly.

“Yeah I get that. After everything with me, my parents thought I would do better away from it all.” There’s a moment where they both just look at each other. Evie realizes there is more to his story too. 

They sit in silence for a while after that. It’s the comfortable kind, and Evie finds herself relaxing for the first time in over a year. When they finally part that evening, they make plans to meet up again.

“Just call me whenever you’re free, Russel.” She says quickly, scribbling her number down and offering it to him. “I’ve got most mornings off.” He takes the paper and smiles again. 

“Sure thing. And you can just call me Russ.”

She feels the smile stretch across her face. “Alright.” She watches him walk away for a while before heading back to her flat. She’s got a skip to her step now, feels lighter. With a new friend everything seems a little brighter.


End file.
